Spirit of the Cimarron: The beginning
by starryequine
Summary: Tells the story of Spirit's childhood, when he meets the filly of his dreams...
1. Chapter 1: Spirit

As Strider, the black stallion was pulled away, trying to fight off the humans, Esperanza lay down on the floor in immense pain.

Strider realised that there was nothing he could do. He nuzzled Esperanza one last time with a tear rolling down his nose. Esperanza whinnied to him as he was dragged away again by the humans on horseback.

"Goodbye Esperanza, I love you!" Strider neighed.

The palomino mare's head fell to the grassy floor as a wave of pain flooded through her stomach.

Her two best friends, Cinnamon and Misty glanced at each other in sorrow, as Esperanza neighed in pain.

What was happening to her?

A few moments later, Esperanza neighed one last time, and a foal emerged.

Cinnamon and Misty whinnied excitedly to her, and Esperanza turned her head to say hello to her new son, a dun (buckskin) colt.

The colt shook his head and gazed at his mother, his eyes blurry.

Esperanza licked his head and the cheeky colt pulled a strand of Esperanza's mane.

The Mustang mare had never been so proud. She rose on all fours and walked forwards a few paces to eat some grass. Her new son tried to follow her, but tripped and fell.

Bravely, he rose to his feet again and pranced forwards to feed.

A few hours later, Esperanza lay down in the grass, her son beside her, surrounded by the herd.

"What will you call him, Esperanza?" Cinnamon asked quietly, as the dun colt slept soundly.

"I'm not sure, my friends." Esperanza sighed. "We will see what tomorrow brings, and hopefully we can gather ideas for the perfect name." The palomino mare smiled at her herdmates, before lowering her head and going to sleep herself.

The rest of the herd slept standing up in a ring around the mother and foal, so that they would be protected from any danger.

Esperanza woke late at night, the herd were soundly asleep. The foal had moved slightly, earlier on in the night, for he was now laying faced away from his mother.

Esperanza rose to her feet and walked up the rise.

She spotted her and Strider's favourite star, a large star that twinkled brighter than the others.

She knew that Strider could see it too.

"Strider, you have a new son. He hasn't been named yet. I know you can't hear me, but you can still see me. I am in our star. I hope I see you again." She said to the star.

It just twinkled even brighter, as though it was sending Strider the message.

Esperanza felt tears pricking her eyes, as she heard a distant neigh, one that she recognised.

Strider was calling to her, as if he had received the message.

Esperanza's tears began to pour out of her eyes as she turned back.

She heard the neigh again, it sounded as if it was saying "spirit".

Esperanza was confused and too upset to think any more of it. She walked sadly back to the herd and lay beside her son again. The little colt heard his mother return, and could sense her sadness. He awoke and nuzzled Esperanza's nose.

He stared at the star and let out a tiny whicker, he just knew that someone was out there keeping an eye on him. In his mind, he heard a voice: "Look after your mother and the herd son. You are strong at heart, I can sense it. You are Spirit, who will not be broken…"


	2. Chapter 2: A taste of danger!

Months passed, and Esperanza named her son Spirit. She couldn't think why-she'd just had a feeling that Spirit should be his name.

Spirit was now 6 months old, and was learning and growning quickly.

"Mother, why are you licking those ice things?" Spirit asked, one snowy winter morning.

"Because ice is frozen water, and we're thirsty." Esperanza replied, smiling.

The dun colt thought that this looked like fun, so he reared up and tried to lick an icicle, but they were all too high.

He spotted one that was lower down, so he trotted towards it and tried to lick it.

There was just one problem-his tongue got stuck!

"Oh man!" He groaned, trying to wriggle away and stamp his hooves.

Just as Esperanza led the herd past the pine trees, she heard a crack. Looking up, she noticed Spirit trotting past, holding the icicle in his mouth, proudly!

Esperanza laughed and shook her head.

Later that day, Spirit and his friends, which were both fillies, were drinking from the pool.

Suddenly, there was a rumbling noise, and the ground shuddered.

The three foals galloped back to their mothers and hid behind them, peering out as Spirit stood still in the pool.

A loud snort behind him made his turn around rapidly, as he stared into the face of a buffalo.

Thew colt was frightened at first, then he calmed down and sniffed at the buffalo.

Esperanza called Spirit back, and as he galloped back to her, he stopped and reared up before galloping after his herd.

"Spirit, that was very brave of you!" Esperanza commented as the herd walked away to the hill.

"Thanks mum. What were those things?" Spirit replied.

"They're called Buffalo. They're harmless really, but they can get agressive." Esperanza answered, moving forward into a trot.

"Oh, they didn't scare me!" Spirit laughed, galloping ahead. He stood on the hill, and the wind blew through his mane. Spirit closed his eyes and looked down as the herd stopped and grazed.

He felt like a leader…He almost felt himself growing taller and becoming lead stallion.

He snapped back to his senses, just as he heard a strange noise.

Spirit looked up, and saw a big cat creeping into the woods. Thinking quickly, Spirit raised the alarm. He reared up and neighed as loudly as he could.

The herd stopped and stared in astonishment. Even Spirit seemed surprised with himself.

"He sounded just like Strider!" Esperanza gasped.

The cougar ran out of the woods and tried to attack the herd.

Spirit galloped away, bt then he stopped and thought quickly; he turned around again and galloped towards the cougar at top speed.

The big cat looked surprised as Spirit zipped after it. The little colt was galloping so fast that he overtook the cougar.

He spun round and jumped forwards, trying to land on the predator. He missed it.

Spirit tried one last time, and with all his might, he pounded towards the cougar and kicked out, scaring it away. The herd looked on in amazement. It was a while before any of them said or did anything. Eventually, in unison, they all neighed in triumph and reared up. Spirit had never felt so proud of himself as he followed the herd down the hill to graze.


	3. Chapter 3: A friend in Rain

A few more months passed, and Spirit grew to be a brave and strong yearling.

His two filly friends secretly fancied him, but didn't say so!

Spirit became the herd protector, even though he was only a year old.

One spring morning, Spirit was checking out the lands for danger. He stood on the hill and saw a skewbald yearling filly cantering past with a human on her back. The human dismounted and ran into a building.

Spirit was hooked!

He galloped dow the hill and whinnied. The filly turned round and saw Spirit approaching.

She whickered to him, and tossed her mane, pawing the ground in greeting.

Spirit noticed the filly's pretty blue eyes and fell head over heels! (A/N: Not literally! ;) )

"Hi." The filly said. She had a soft, silky voice and Spirit decided he liked what he saw!

"H-hello." Spirit stuttered.

"Want to play with me? I like Tag!" The skewbald filly smiled.

"Sure!" Spirit grinned back. He tagged the filly and cantered around in circled.

The filly laughed girlishy and tried to "tag" him.

Esperanza was leading the herd over the hill, when she spotted Spirit and the filly playing tag.

Her eyes widened at the sight. She neighed and galloped down the hill.

Spirit stopped running and dodged his mother as she sped downhill.

"Spirit. I appreciate that you made a friend, but you need to concentrate on protecting this herd. I'm sorry son." Esperanza said.

Spirit hung his head sadly. "Yes mum." He muttered.

"But, maybe your friend would like to join us for the day?" Esperanza finished, smiling.

"Thankyou!" The filly smiled.

"What's your name by the way?" Spirit asked the filly.

"I'm Rain. Who are you?"

"I'm Spirit. Can we be friends?" Spirit replied.

Rain nodded and the two youngsters followed the herd up the hill.

On the way to their Homeland, the horses all leaped over a hedge and galloped on.

Rain stopped a metre away from the jump, and Spirit stopped beside her.

"What's wrong, Rain?" Spirit asked, concerned.

"I-I can't jump that!" Rain admitted, sadly.

"You'll be fine. Really. All you need to do is gallop up to that hedge, lift up your front legs and tuck the underneath you, and kick off from your hind legs. Then when you touch back down again, put your front legs on the ground first. You've never jumped before?" Spirit said.

Rain shook her head.

Spirit thought for a while, before replying: "Watch me and do what I do!"

He turned around again and galloped away, then he turned once more and sped towards the hedge. He lengthened his stride and leapt over the hedge.

Rain stared on in amazement. She galloped up to the hedge, too.

She took off well from her hind legs and soared over the hedge. "I did it!"

She cried, "I cleared it!"

"Great." Spirit grinned, "we'd best get going, the herd are ahead of us already!" Spirit laughed and ran at a full gallop to keep up with his herd.

Rain followed him, thinking: 'I need to get back soon, my human is waiting for me!'

Once the two yearlings reached the herd, Esperanza smiled.

"What took you so long?" She chuckled.

"Jumping practise!" Rain replied,

"Well that's great! Follow us Rain, there's a lovely meadow beyond the woods…we'll take you there." Esperanza offered,

Spirit's face lit up-he loved this meadow. Most importantly, he felt that he loved Rain…


	4. Chapter 4: Saying Goodbye

That evening, just as the sun was setting, the herd were chattering and neighing with laughter. They were having a great time as they grazed on the lush green grass.

Spirit and Rain were standing further away from the herd, just on the outskirts of the woods.

"I think you're a great friend, Spirit. I hope I can stay here with you." Rain was saying.

Spirit smiled and moved towards Rain to nuzzle her. Instead, his nose missed her mane and the two yearlings found themselves kissing!

All of a sudden, there was a whistling sound. Spirit jumped, startled.

"Oh, that will be my owner." Rain said sadly. "I have to go. I promise I'll meet you again one day. Goodbye Spirit." She licked him one last time, then galloped down the hill.

One moment, Rain and Spirit were together, and the next, Rain had gone. Maybe forever.

Spirit neighed a goodbye to his new friend.

As Spirit watched Rain, a human leapt gently on to her back and they galloped away into the distance.

Spirit felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach, _would_ he ever meet Rain again?

The dun yearling lowered his head and laid back his ears, sadly returning to the herd.

Spirit was just wandering back to his herd, when something moved in a hedge behind him.

He turned one ear backwards to hear where the sound came from. He spun round and there stood a wolf cub about the same age as he was, panting hard and looking terrified.

Spirit moved a bit closer to inspect the wolf. His nostrils flared as he sniffed the creature in front of him.

"What are you?" Spirit asked, at last.

"I'm a wolf. You and your herd must run! There is danger on the way!" The wolf said, looking scared.

"Why? What danger?" Spirit asked, alarmed.

"You'd better follow me up the hill." The wolf replied, more calmly.

Spirit followed the wolf up the rise and spotted some horses galloping along a few hundred yards away from the rise.

"It's just more horses." Spirit said, puzzled.

"Yes, they are tough and they are a band of bachelor stallions. You must lead your mares away now! And hurry!" The wolf cried, speeding away in the opposite diresction.

Spirit was shocked. He ran back to his herd and neighed in warning.

The whole herd turned and galloped away, Spirit followed them, herding them past the woods.

"What's the matter, Spirit? What's the danger?" Esperanza asked her son.

"Bachelor stallions, mother." Spirit explained, taking a look behind him. The stallions were following them, but they were a long way behind.

Spirit urged his herd past some mountains and through another forest. The herd became tired and needed to rest. There was a river nearby, and the horses all began to drink from it.

Spirit lowered his head to drink, and just as he rose, he heard the pounding of hooves.

The stallions were at the river, too.

Spirit was cross, and snorted angrily, flailing his hooves to warn off the stallions.

"Relax, we only wanted a drink. We followed your herd because we could sense that you were going to stop off for a drink, and you have!" The lead stallion said.

"Yeah, we don't want your mares, little yearling!" Another stallion finished.

Spirit felt embarrassed, and one of the other yearlings glared angrily at him.

"Some leader you'd make!" He complained.

Spirit paused before saying: "At least now we know what to do in a real danger situation."

He led the herd slowly back home and they settled to sleep for the night.

Spirit couldn't sleep; he looked up at his favourite star and sighed. "Goodbye Rain." He whispered.

He heard a whinny from the distance and it sounded just like her. Spirit felt sure that it was her, and feeling a little more comfortable, he lay down and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5: Consequences

The dun stallion woke with a start.

He shook his mane and sniffed the air. The two-legged that sat so boldly in front of him, tied to the other post was holding something in his hand. Spirit was now four years old, and fully grown. He had recently been taken to a strange place with many two-leggeds and horses. The horses seemed hypnotized by the humans-they were under their control so it seemed.

Spirit was staring blankly at the Lakota Brave, and noticed that he had began to slice at the rope that was wrapped round his hands and the pole.

All of a sudden, a saddle was thrown on Spirit's back, and a bridle was slipped onto his head.

Training again!

The colonel led Spirit to the arena and swung himself into the saddle, gathering up the reins.

Spirit bucked and threw himself to the ground. He leapt. He spun round in circles. He slammed himself into the fence. It was no use-he was slowly being broken!

At last, he became so tired that he couldn't buck or bronco anymore.

The colonel gave a speech to his fellow two-leggeds.

"Right, time you shut up for once!" Spirit said under his breath. He grabbed the reins in his teeth, snatching them out of his rider's hands. He galloped towards the fence and reared up. As he did, the buckle on the girth broke and Spirit toppled backwards, sending the colonel flying out of the saddle.

Spirit stood staring angrily at him for a while, until the horses began neighing in applause.

"SOLDIER! SECURE THAT HORSE!" The colonel yelled. One soldier held on to Spirit's reins and the colonel held a gun to the stallion's face.

At that moment, the Lakota broke the rope that tied his hands to the post, leapt on to the colonel, knocking him over then jumped on to Spirit's back.

Spirit galloped as fast as he could, freeing the other horses as he ran.

His rider grabbed a soldier's rifle and shot the gate open, setting all the horses free.

Spirit heard the human whistle.

"Oh man, why did I have to let him ride me?" Spirit muttered, rolling his eyes.

At that moment, the most beautiful Paint mare came galloping alongside him.

He looked into her eyes, and noticed the cool blue colour that they were.

'just like Rain's' he sighed sadly. How could it be Rain? Rain never had a feather in her mane. But the markings were so similar…

She stopped in front of Spirit, causing him to stop, too. Other horses skidded to a halt beside them and their riders threw ropes round Spirit's neck.

"One minute I'm free-now more ropes!" He sighed.

The skewbald mare smiled. 'He looks just like Spirit-if only he were here now,' she thought.

If only they knew….


	6. Chapter 6: Reunited!

The next morning, Spirit awoke and began to eat some apples from the medow floor.

He raised his head and spotted the mare.

He whinnied before trotting over to say hello.

"Hi I'm Spirit." He smiled.

The mare smiled cheekily and began to canter in circles. The Lakota boy whistled for her and began to play chase with her.

It was about five minutes before he and the mare realised that Spirit was growing bored, so the Lakota left.

The skewbald trotted back to the fence.

"Sorry." She said, "I only play chase with him to shut him up!"

Spirit laughed.

The mare had a soft, friendly voice-just like Rain!

"Don't you like your two-legged friend?" Spirit asked.

The mare nodded her sleek head. "Of course I do. I'd never run away from here, everybody is friendly. I like all the two-legged's. Do you like them?"

"No way! They make me angry." Spirit confessed. "I'm a wild horse, I'm not used to them."

"Oh" The mare replied. "That sounds cool!" She thought hard. Was this Spirit?

"What's your name, wild one?" the skewbald asked, blinking at him.

"Spirit. What about you?"

She knew it-it was him! How long she had waited to see him again!

"S-Spirit? Is that really you?" The skewbald mare questioned. "It's me. Rain."

Spirit's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

The two horses stared at each other in dismay. They had found each other at last!

"OH MY GOSH!" Spirit cried, "Look how much you've grown! I haven't seen you in three whole years!" (A/N: That's ages for a horse! XD)

Rain nodded and flung her head on to Spirit's neck, breathing warm breath on to his fur.

"I've waited so long to see you." She whispered, nuzzling the stallion's mane.

The two horses stood for a long time, twining necks and grooming each other.


End file.
